I Remember When ... Page 16

Published 10/21/11, contributed by Fred McCarty

I really enjoyed the article and photos from the Circle 4 Club included in the latest update. It is great to know these two guys are still around. It's amazing that Bad Guy Black Bart survived all those years of abuse and shin-kicking. I do not remember kicking Black Bart myself, probably I thought that was a real pistol he was carrying, and he might shoot me with it! I remember attending the live show as a Cub Scout (from DeQueen Elementary) on a couple of occasions and a time or two for birthdays with some friends. I especially enjoyed the photo with the scene from the show. I am not able to identify the kids in the Cub Scout uniforms but it is possible it was my group which included Jack Weldon, David Weldon, Larry Speake, James Hubert, and maybe one or two more guys. Jack's mother was our Den Leader and she did a great job with us. I thought the Cub Scout on the left side of the picture looked like David Weldon, or possibly Larry Speake, but I could be mistaken. Thanks for the trip down "memory lane".

Published 10/21/11, contributed by Mike Lawson

If you attended Woodrow Wilson in the 9th grade, you might remember seeing or possibly hearing other students talk about - The Big Fight.
I was on my way to gym class not knowing the next hour would consist of one of the most exciting fights I had ever seen in school. I remember it as though it happened yesterday. It was controlled and sanctioned by the coaches. This, to me, was the most interesting part of the whole event. I never thought a coach or teacher would ever allow something like this to take place in a public school.
After getting into my gym clothes, which consisted of a white tee shirt, white shorts (our last name was printed on the rear of the shorts with a black permanent marker), white socks and a pair of Kids tennis shoes, I walked into the gym and went over to my designated spot located somewhere near the front. I remember Coach Mack Estes would always conduct the exercises. He began his walk up and down the isles twirling a set of keys around his finger making sure we were doing our exercises correctly and if we weren't he would surely let us know. Suddenly, we could hear a lot of commotion in the back of the gym. We all looked back to see what was going on. Two guys had each other in a head lock and throwing upper cuts. No one was able to make out who they were until Coach Estes and Coach Ned Cole began pulling them a part. It was Rosendo Lopez and Ronnie Sulke going at it hard. I was a little surprised to see Rosendo fighting someone like Sulke. Rosendo was known as a well mannered, well groomed, well dressed, an excellent student and Mayor of the 9th grade class. Ronnie was considered by everyone as a rough and tough guy. I remember Estes was getting really frustrated with these guys because they kept going at each other. He decided to let them fight it out, so he yelled something like, "Go get the gloves!" Now, if I remember correctly this thing started out, a few days earlier, as a small disagreement and no one ever thought it would turn into something this serious. Well, here comes Coach Cole with the gloves. Several students began helping the two get the gloves on and strapped up. Coach Estes came over and asked several of us to help spread mats together on the floor." Once that was done we all formed a human ring around the floor mats. Sulke and Lopez came busting through the crowd, and immediately began throwing punches. As I recall, most of the punches didn't even come close for the first few minutes. Suddenly, Sulke lands a shot to Lopez. The whole gym class went bazurk. Rosendo comes back with a few connections of his own. They began busting each other right and left, non-stop and at close range. It looked like two tornadoes colliding. The fight was incredible. It continued for several minutes and then they began backing away from each other. I thought for a minute the fight was over. Boom! They went at it again for a couple more minutes and finally couldn't go any more. They were so tired, they draped themselves over each other like wet dish rags. Sulke and Lopez looked lifeless, they both collapsed onto the mat. I remember Rosendo couldn't raise his arms for anything. To the best of my memory, these guys never knocked each other down. The event lasted throughout most of the class.
The rest of the day you could hear students up and down the halls talking about the fight. A day or so later, I remember seeing Sulke and Lopez talking and laughing in the hall. I don't think either one considered the other as a best friend and the idea of duking it out again never crossed their minds. Coach Estes knew how to put a stop to this feud for good, "Go get the gloves!"
Can you imagine what would happen today if a coach, in this same situation, would say, "Go get the gloves!" Oh hell, I'd hate to think!

Published 4/20/12, contributed by Terry Watson

I remember when a big deal at Christmas time was TOY LAND upstairs at Sears and Roebuck. I also remember the x-ray machine in the shoe department at Sears where you stuck your bare feet in them to help them find the size to fit you. Sounds bizarre today. Speaking of things that might bring the hazmat team out today, how about passing around a beaker of MERCURY (HG) in science class at Thomas Edison so everyone could feel liquid metal?

Published 4/04/14, contributed by Terry Watson

* Fred Miller’s Feed store (on Bluebonnet?) or the feed store on 39th Street in Groves where they always had chicks and bunnies in the Spring. Do you remember that people used to actually water ski in the canal next to SH 73 between US 69 and Texaco Research?
* The annual Christmas toy display in a room on the 2nd floor of Sears.
* Speaking of Sears, do you remember when Allstate Insurance had a counter under the escalator at Sears and I suppose sold car insurance there?
* And, the shoe sizing, foot x-ray thing in the Sears shoe department at Sears – how scary is that.
* Did you know that I must have spent way too much time at Sears as a child?

Published 5/01/14, contributed by James Smith (not a member of our class)

When I first started making the drag it wasn't on Gulf way. It was on Procter Street....It went from downtown to Drakes Drive Inn close to Stadium Road. Eventually it changed course and went down Woodworth passed The Coke Plant and out to Tex Lou Drive inn by the KCS Over Pass. Then it eventually changed and went down Gulf way to Stadium Road out to 39th Street and again to Drakes Drive Inn. Across from Groves State Bank. That bank had a huge fountain right on the corner of 39th street and Twin City Hwy. And the kids making the Drag, would throw Salvo Washing Powder Tablets into it. And within an hour the fountain would be spewing soap suds instead of water.
As a kid in Port Arthur I worked at Port Arthur Lanes, for Jimmy and Gladys Griswold and I set pins behind the alley's for 7 cents a line. Or I could watch foul line for a dollar a night. I used to go down to Texaco reservoir when there wasn't no bowlers and swim in the reservoir. Life in Port Arthur was very good. I'd hunt rabbits behind the Texaco Reservoirs too. I had a .177 Caliber Benjamin Pellet air rifle, and I would stalk those rabbits with a head light. I killed lots of them there. I also remember when there was no highway 73, running close to the city reservoir or over alligator bayou. We used to hunt ducks back in those marshes, and sneak in on the city reservoir and fish for catfish and crappie. The Good ole days. Weingarten's and Heinke and Piellot Super market's weren't opened yet so we usually shopped for milk and bread at Abraham's and Matthew's grocery stores on Memorial. Those stores had their own meat markets. And they sold whole milk...with a cream top on it. Not water based milk but real cow's milk straight from the Walling's dairy in Nederland.
I remember Texaco used to have Company picnic's at Pleasure Island. They would rent to Island for the whole day and we could go with our Dad and Mom, because my dad was an employee. We'd ride rides and swim and Texaco cooked gigantic feasts out in J.C. Park on the Island. They had a fishing tournament....for kids. It was all free.
I attended The Seahawks games with my dad, and we used to go to the Capri drive end with mud and mosquito's. Used to go down to Sara Jane Road at midnight and call out to her off that little flat top bridge. Back then it was a wooden bridge. Legend had it, if you went at midnight down there and called out " Sara Jane's Name " she would appear out of the marshy area like a ghost. Every chance I got I would visit the old Zesto ice cream stand across from Bishop Byrne High School. They sold some of thickest malts in town. Yeah I used to hang out a lot on the drag both on Procter and Gulf way...have a lots of memories of Port Arthur....

Published 8/01/15, contributed by Bob Sandoval

"Going Across the River" episode 1 - "The Big Rain at the Big Oak"
It’s been a long time since the ‘go across the river’ Louisiana days when buying a drink made you feel like some sort of adult. We just could not grow up fast enough. Unfortunately some of our friends are ‘on the program’ now but back then the only ‘program’ we knew was in the TJ auditorium once a month.
Driving to Louisiana with a pocket full of side job and after school money was the most fun of a typical Friday night. We were able to make our cash go even further by having an older brother or local wino buy us our Buckhorn (or Schlitz if we had extra dough) which we iced down in a cooler and kept in the trunk. Wow, saving that 35 cents for a beer at the Big Oak made cash go further. Me and my usual band of ne’er do wells would gather and off we went loaded down for a night of Louisiana partying. The band always seemed to be G.G. Shinn and Jerry ‘Count’ Jackson. I may be wrong, but this band was about the closest to big time night club performances I had witnessed up to then. More fun than watching a Mozart concert in Vienna years later.
My good friends Casey, Cooter, TL, Tom of course, and ‘Woodpecker’ Donnie Wade led the way to loud music, dancing with Louisiana girls, and partying down. On one occasion Casey’s cousin Robert, from PNG, an outsider, loaded up with us in the ’55 or ’57 Chevy, depending on who was driving. The band was going full tilt, brass, strings, and singing. It was my first time to see strobe lights in rhythm with the music, “Can’t turn you loose”, “I’m a soul man”, etc. Music and a strobe light set to the beat in a dark road house.
Well, walking to the parking lot for a cold ‘paid for’ beer was the way to go. Cousin Robert must have reached his limit because he looked a little woozy on the dance floor. The beers, loud music and strobe light must have gotten to him because his stomach decided to ‘turn it loose’. Yeah, right there on the dance floor out it came. Picture snow coming out of a fireman’s hose, almost straight up, illuminated by the blinking strobe. The dancing crowd in range scattered like Moses parting the Red Sea, as they swatted away the airborne gastronomical debris.
As the overhead lights begin to come on we all assembled at the front entrance and home we went, not knowing what happened next on the dance floor. No stopping at the Weinerschnitzel in Orange for that trip home.

Published 7/09/17, contributed by Linda McFadden from comments in the "Gulfway Drive Memories" submitted by Robert "Bob" Sewell.

I'm sure no one else remembers this car, but I certainly do. My dad bought me my first car, which was identical to this 1968 Image may contain: car, sky and outdoorGrecian Green Chevelle Malibu Coupe with black interior and a bench front seat. It had a 307 V-8 and a three speed manual transmission with a floor mounted Hurst shifter. I was very proud of her and I washed the "green machine" almost everyday at the self-serve carwash down the street from Gibson's Discount Store. She couldn't compete with the 396 SS Camaro, which is what I really wanted, but it was what my dad could afford. He was also much smarter than I ever gave him credit for being. He knew I likely would have killed myself or somebody else had he bought me the SuperSport model. Even so, I cruised Gulfway Drive regularly with the windows down and the 8 track stereo playing The Four Tops "Reach Out and I'll Be There", The Temptations "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", Eric Burdon and the Animals "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", The Rascals "Groovin", and countless other hits of the day, trying unsuccessfully to impress the chicks. Those were the days. Thanks to whomever started this page where all us old farts can reminisce and pretend we are young again.